


May Your Purple Bleed Red

by Badnews



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Keith (Voltron), Alien Technology, Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Galaxy Garrison, Galra Keith (Voltron), Garrison trio, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith (Voltron) was Raised by the Blade of Marmora, Lance (Voltron) is a Dork, Language Barrier, Mild Hurt/Comfort, and i love him, basically keith crash lands on earth, little bit of, pidge is super cool in this one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2019-10-14 08:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17505317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Badnews/pseuds/Badnews
Summary: Keith ran a bit too far and he crashed on an unidentified planet with three children who dont understand a word he is saying and dont know who the Galra are, just to top it off there seems to be something radiating a large amount of quintessence about a mile out!At least he got their names sorta right.





	1. Sandy Remains

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! This is my first attempt at a multichapter fic and I have to admit, i havent quite wrote the ending yet but im so close! 
> 
> I would love feedback and critism! I am trying to improve!

Pidge was sitting on the garrison's roof, reveling in the calm cool breeze of the desert, no longer sweeping up sand like the days before. Interstellar whispers of light and stars dotted the sky and Pidge was once again lost in the familiar, unaware to their new visitors. 

Hunk and Lance, fellow cadets and friends in arms to a certain degree peeked over the edge of the roof, spotting the lone student. 

Lance, the confident, over eager boy hauled himself over the edge with surprisingly quiet steps and walked over, tapping the smaller cadet on the shoulder. Grinning when they shrieked and flailed, dropping their equipment with a clatter and putting up their hands as if to be shot. 

He leaned over their shoulder and hummed, like he knew exactly what was written in the hundred lines of code displayed, “You here all on your lonesome little dude?” 

Pidge scowled, even more so when Hunk made his way over and marveled at their tech. Pidge mourned for the loss of their alone time in the desert and fiddled with the wire of their glasses which hooked over their ear and sometimes tipped down the bridge of their nose to the point they couldn’t read. Pidge took off the lens and balanced it on top of their knee precariously.

They ran a hand down their spec free face, pulling at their cheeks, “Why are you guys here?” They moaned. 

Lance scoffed and waved a hand, ranting about quality time, friends and beauty to them while Hunk decided it was time to start looking at Pidge’s tech, poking at the USB and wires connected between the space scanner disk and the actual computer. 

Pidge snapped at Hunk, slapping his wrist, the boy recoiled with a slight pout, and then turned to Lance, seeing him finally finished talking and waiting for an answer, “I am always up here if you haven't noticed-” Pidge started.

“-Oh boy, we’ve noticed” 

“-And if you must know I am scanning space within the sun’s orbit to pick up radio chatter and the likes,” They couldn't stop from raising an eyebrow in pride. 

“Woah like aliens?” Lance’s eyes gleamed.

Hunk burst, a mixture of fear and disbelief, “Aliens aren’t real!”

“I can’t tell you for sure but it's been a bit busy tonight,”

“Let me hear!” Lance tried to strangle Pidge by taking the headphones off their neck. 

Pidge spluttered for a bit and then pushed the boy back, he fell into a mess of limbs, “If you would let me finish I would show you!” They frowned at the other boy who cradled his head and stuck out his neck comically but eventually obliged and pulled up the recordings of the mess of static and strange mixed up second hand vibrations. 

They listened in silence before it suddenly got louder and more high pitched and then finally cut out completely, “Pretty neat huh?” Pidge closed the recording. 

Lance pursed his lips, “What happened?” 

Hunk was still silent, watching the starry sky as if to see the mysterious origin of the sound. 

“Maybe it's aliens trying to communicate-” Pidge enjoyed the way Hunk’s face screwed up, “-Or it could be something coming towards earth, like a falling piece of shuttle or past debre. Up there our atmosphere is basically a spaceship garbage dump.” They pointed to the stars. 

Lance craned his neck far back, “I’ve seen pictures… Are we really going for space garbage though?” He crawled closer to Pidge and they could see the goose bumps on his skin, from the night’s chill. Lance tugged at the hemd of his sleeve and unraveled them from their rolls to bring the fabric to his palms.

“No,” Pidge said.

Hunk and Lance turned to them, surprised. Pidge continued, a fond grin on their face, “I don’t think its garbage, its big, its loud and it's coming, any day now and we might hear about it on the news; Space thing landed on a local farm or something but whatever it is... it isn't garbage.” 

\----

He leaned forward in the padded seat, pushing forward onto the front console with so much momentum he tumbled over top of it and pushed the air out of his lungs. He scrambled for a place to hold himself as the whole shuttle shook, a spark lit in the back, igniting something in the corner of his eye. 

Above him the alarms rang, bright and red. He quickly skimmed his fingers over the notches and holographic pad on the console, “This is Keith Yorak R’Kak. Soldier code: 2833 of the south transmission ship is there anybody hearing this?” His throat was raw, either from smoke or screaming. 

To answer him there was static, “This is evacuation pod with one occupant, number 2833, breeching unknown upper atmosphere is there anybody hearing this?” 

Static. Keith swallowed and coughed, clenching to the front of his dark armour as if to pull it over his mouth. The ship lurched, pushing Keith back into his seat, he could feel the vibrations under his feet as fire licked the side of his view. Blurred asteroids and projectiles passed him by, knocking on the fragile shield the pod came equipped with.

Keith pushed a lever forward grunting with effort as he forced his shoulder away from himself. After it clicked his arm fell to his side, fingers no longer shaking. 

“Please, pod 113 reporting for survivors, anybody out there! The gravitational pull of this unknown planet is taking me in, I’m stuck unless anyone can be the hero for the last second save,” Keith’s eyes were open and flickering, if his ears weren’t trapped under the firm smooth helmet they would be pointed forward in desperation. 

“Oh god is there anyone here, 2883, number whatever pod im stuck, i'm falling, breeching middle atmosphere please help!” 

Keith sucked in a deep breath, tears stinging his eyes. His hands burned from adrenaline and sticky sweat and the burn of a past flame. The coolness of a blade was lost long before.

He switched off the coms and directed the power to the thrusters but they sputtered, pushed him forward and slowed his descent for a moment before dying completely and leaving him floating helplessly completely at the will of crowded space. Unnamed stars and strange colours swirled past him as he sped faster and faster towards a planet Keith couldn’t identify. 

Cool, cool blue lit up the windshield, washing over him completely. Pushing against the purple and blacks that make up his pod and making Keith’s wet eyes glow. 

A drop of blood soaked the underarm of his flight suit and dripped down his breastplate. It landed on his thigh but was red hot. All Keith could see was black and blue. 

His hands braced on the lip of the console, gripping it until his fingers hurt. His pod rocked once more and Keith fell forward without brace onto the desk, his head slammed onto the controls, cracking his visor and making everything dark. 

Behind him a great star lit up space and darkness and the falling ship. Leaving the darkness behind him without light, a wreckage of both blood and betrayal. 

\----

Something flared on their screen. Pidge jolted forward, startling the other two half asleep cadets. Lance mumbled something about bedtimes but Pidge ignored him, not willing to miss the chance of a alter in space vibrations for such a thing as sleep. Pidge pushed the headset on and tuned the machine, turning the knobs until they heard it, a growl unlike anything heard before. 

They stood, nearly kicking Hunk’s prone form, “It’s in our atmosphere!” Pidge shouted, typing furiously on their computer in an attempt to lock down on location, “It's coming, its close, its big and it's not garbage!” 

“What are you talking about?” Hunk asked. 

“There is something heading towards earth, unlike anything i've ever seen before- its off the charts guys! It isn't like space shuttle launching and it isn't returning.” After a moment of tense silence Pidge’s shoulders shook and they dropped the computer clattering being the only sound to join the cadet’s pounding heart, “It’s falling… it’s falling and it's gonna land right on top of us.” 

Lance’s eyes widened, “Are you serious?” 

And just then the garrison awoke, a siren blared long and loud. The three teens stood up, Pidge picked up the closed computer still warm against their chest. Lockdown calls and a long group of officers spilled out of the front of the school, carrying heavy weapons and full armour. Trucks began to light up with rumbling engines while the alarm blared in their ears with its deafening tune. 

Hunk ran over to the end of the roof but the windows had already been barricaded shut with metal bars and searchlights lit on searching the sky. Behind him Lance and Pidge were watching this with surprising determination. 

Hunk called out to them but his voice lost sound as Lance pointed to something in the sky. A ball of flame suddenly grew and streaked across the sky above them with Lance’s finger following tracing the path it took, his finger left smoke in the sky from the descending object. It glowed as bright as the sun and left shadows of the teens moving on the cement roof before landing in the distant horizon. 

The fire quelled and left behind a beacon. The three teens watched with wide eyes as grey smoke rose from the crash sight. Leading everyone to the exact location, the great entrance froze every human watching.

Before they knew it the three were following the flare, as grey clouded the stars, they kicked up sand in their wake.


	2. Blood of Machines, Glowing Fuel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huzzah! Another chapter, I can't believe this junk got 100 hits in the first chapter pfft, its awesome!
> 
> So to reward you guys here it is! 
> 
> I have an exam tomorrow so maybe you wont here from me but dont forget to comment! 
> 
> <3

It was a while before they reached the crash site. While they slowed easily and tried their best to avoid being spotted by the officers it was logical they wouldn't be able to outrun the vehicles. As they neared the site Lance and Pidge bantered less and less, like they were slowly realising what they were doing. 

The smoke was rising in a thick grey rope traveling up to reach the stars and it was lit up by the far away searchlights from the Garrison. They saw the destruction before the hunk of black metal. A scar embedded deeply in the sand, metal littered few and far between. A few birds few in the opposite direction. 

“There it is,” Pidge whispered. 

Hunk stopped for breath, basically collapsing to the ground with relief. Lance followed him with less gusto, bending his knees and holding his back like an old man, he moaned like it hurt to rest. 

Pidge refused to sit, looking over the landscape and spotting a few trucks with the Garrison symbol, right headlights lighting up the sand dunes and few rock faces, driving around. Even from a distance it was unlike Pidge had ever seen, all spikes and weird angles. 

“How are we going to get close” Lance asked, equally quiet. Pidge fell to their knees after a moment, caking their legs with sand. 

They swept a hand over the sand between the teens and started to draw. A circle to show the ship location, a few crosses for trucks and then they put a mark down for the three of them. 

Pidge looked at the sand with furrowed eyebrows, “We can’t be spotted by them and the longer we wait the more opportunity they have to investigate,” 

“They haven’t already gone all alien quarantine on it?” 

Pidge looked over their shoulder but could not spot the ship again, they shrugged, “It’s alien, unknown, it could have space radiation or whatever,” Hunk huffed what might have been a chuckle or a cough, “They are probably waiting for the go ahead, which means they are giving it space. It is our chance to get close,”

Hunk finally rolled over, joining the conversation with flushed cheeks, “Why do we even want to get there first?” 

“Aliens!” Lance said. 

Hunk rolled his eyes, “I’m serious. Why would we want to be the first to see it? The Garrison officers can safely observe and take whatever it is away! No needed danger!”

 

“Away!” PIdge threw their hands in the air, “Exactly the point! Everybody knows not to let the government have first contact and cover this up- they will just transport the alien out to area 51 with no one knowing any better!” 

“This isn't a movie! They are trained for things like this-”

“-Aliens. Trained for aliens” Lance raised an eyebrow. 

“You get what I mean!” Hunk shouted, he picked up a fist full of sand and let it spill through his fingers, his eyebrows slowly relaxed as he watched it, “What if it isn't an alien?” 

Pidge stood up, swatting at their legs to remove the clingy sand, “What else could it be?” 

Hunk didn’t respond, just looked to the ground and dug his hand into the sand once more. 

They sighed, “We have to do something.” Pidge said, “Come on Lance, We can have first contact without Hunk.” and with that they started to walk away, towards the object. 

Lance stood. Eyes averted. “Lance?” Hunk whispered, the boy looked over with a small smile.

“Aliens… real life aliens…” Lance ran a hand through his hair and barked a laugh at the sky, “I can’t miss that,” 

Hunk shook his head and watched the other walk away, catching up to Pidge, Hunk kept watching until they disappeared over the hill's crest. The wind changed, a breeze stirred the sand in small tornadoes and pushed sand into his shoes. 

The cool dust was itchy. Hunk rubbed his arms as if to warm himself but just spread more sand under his clothes. He brought a hand to his face, seeing small specks in between the creases of his skin. He rubbed his palms together and looked up. 

Stars, a million of them looked back at him. 

He didn’t blame them. lance or Pidge for taking the chance of being a plot of a sci-fi movie. Lance was the epitome of a drama film all by himself and Hunk’s mouth twitched down with the thought of sitting in the sand alone any longer. 

He stood at looked back to the Garrison. Large and firm against the rolling hills of reflected glow. Hunk felt his legs ache with the thought of walking all the way back but took a deep settling breath. The scent of smoke and burning oil filled his lungs. His nose wrinkled and Hunk batted away the air to clear it. He looked back at the Garrison and then over his shoulder to the plume of smoke. 

Something sparked in him and before he knew it, he started to run towards the destruction, over the rocks. 

Lance grinned as he saw Hunk’s mass come hurdling after them, waving his hands and trying not to fall over the steep rocky land. Lance stopped and watched as he caught up, he lent a hand towards Hunk, “Welcome to Alien Busters!”

Pidge turned around, still walking without looking which was harder than it looked with the shift sand under their heels, and frowned with slitted eyes, “We aren’t calling ourselves that,”

Lance didn’t pay them a glance, “The name is a work in progress!”

“Hurry up and keep your trap shut!” Pidge started walking faster, forcing the other two boys to start jogging. Lance made a snide comment about ‘little legs’ but beside that they made it to the wreckage without fail. Hunk would argue against that thought, as he could still feel his fingers trembling from when a truck had started appearing in the distance, they had managed to outrun it but just barely and with a lot of swallowed rocks as reward.

Just like Pidge guessed the patrols never got close to the actual structure. They went around the wreckage giving a couple miles of distance leaving the area free for the teens to run around in with no fear of being spotted. That is until they get the go ahead to proceed and lock down on the structure. Which inevitably wouldn't take all night, the moon was already low. 

As they got closer they began to realise just how large it was. Not so small chunks of metal that was jagged or half buried was littered in the sand more often, accompanied by the scar in the ground it was more like a monster had dragged itself through the area, shedding scales.

Pidge put their glasses on their forehead and wrinkled their nose at the stench of fuel, “It definitely isn’t one of ours,” 

Lance would have responded if he wasn’t enraptured by the flames crackling around him. Small bits of metal were on fire. Purple flames, like fire mixed with glow sticks. Lance was tempted to touch it but he felt the heat, chasing away the desert’s cool night breeze. 

He advanced, ignoring Hunk’s harsh whispered behind him to walk around the whole thing. Dark, all the way around, some parts were more damaged than others, as if it tumbled and flipped before settling. On one side the whole metal wall was crumbled and warped, it was the main source of the glow leak, it was also where the smell was coming from. 

“Lance!” Hunk called, he then glanced around as if someone was going to pop around and arrest them, “Pidge!” He wailed when the smallest cadet walked forward and ran a hand over the wing of the structure. 

“Its beautiful,” They whispered. Hunk grimaced and turned around, looking for vehicles over the rocks. He unfortunately could not see much of anything, the crash site was in an crevice, surrounded by hills and rocks. If they looked to the far right they could see a particularly steep cliff. 

“Pidge!” Pidge rolled their eyes and followed Lance, crouching low and acting like they couldn’t hear Hunk act like a nervous crow. 

Lance’s mouth was open with wonder, he knocked on the mutilated wall, hearing hollow space, “It’s empty,” he said.

“Do you see any openings?” Pidge called back. 

Lance shook his head, “Only dents. Is there anything I can hit it with? An axe or something?”

“We are literally on the hunt for Aliens and you expect to find an axe?” Pidge laughed, “Have some imagination and wish for a cool blaster!” 

Hunk squawked, “I don’t think either of you should be trusted with any weapon!” 

Lance knocked on the structure again, “Knock knock? Hello, anybody home?” Nothing answered him and Lance was tempted to start ramming into the thing but then something small brushed against his back, a chill went down his spine and Lance both curled into himself and jumped into the air, screaming, he whirled around. Only to see Pidge grinning madly, their features enhanced by the creepy purple glow, “Calm down you’ll scare the cacti!” They stuck their tongue out like the child they were. 

Lance scowled, “That was totally not funny!” 

“What? You screaming like a chicken or me stand here behind you innocently?” They offered him the metal piece in their hand. Long and angular. One side was sharp and serrated like it was harshly torn “Try this.”

Lance snatched it from Pidge’s hand, “Both!” and took a step back. He widened his stance and took a flying leap at the black dented wall. Hitting it with an awful echoing clang. 

Beside form a grey streak across the surface it had no effect. Pidge ran their finger over the mark only to find no indentation, “Huh,” 

Lance took another leap, and another, and jabbed and hit and twirled until he was heaving. He let out a scream of frustration and adrenaline before dropping the metal and walking away. In the time it took Lance to express his frustrations on the metal Hunk had joined them, watching from a safe distance and flinching every time metal scraped against metal.

“Wow,” Pidge gave a slow clap and Lance leaned over himself, “That was so impressive,” They stretched their words into a monotone drawl. 

Hunk stepped forward, “Let me try something...” 

Pidge obediently handed him the metal piece, “Batter up, three strikes and you’re out.”

Hunk paced for a bit, observing the ruined wall and tilting his head to the right and left.

“Anytime now. Remember we still do have the government on our tail…” Pidge scoffed. 

Hunk wrinkled his nose and seemingly made a decision. He flipped the metal piece on its end to the much broader, sturdier side and stuck it in a crack where the sand started to pile up around the wreckage. Hunk lodged it in and started to wiggle the makeshift tool. 

He pushed it in and back and forth, edging it in inch by inch. Then he stood back, the metal piece held its place. Before Lance or Pidge could comment Hunk stood on the opposite side of the metal and pushed with all his might, bending it with the strain. 

Pidge's eyebrows raised as they watched the crack get bigger and bigger. Hunk let go suddenly and took a deep breath, “Come help me bend this thing up!” 

Lance followed, grabbing an edge and together they pulled, grunting with the effort of bending the dark metal upwards. Pidge put their hands against their ears for the awful sound it made but when they were done a good sized hole was there. 

The metal had bent into a doggy door shape with an open flap, just big enough for the average person. 

The three laughed and jumped, nerves jumping into high gear. Pidge gave a rough punch to Hunk’s shoulder and Lance grinned like mad. The two smaller cadets peered inside, seeing a dark room darker that the desert’s night with lines of purple running down the walls and slightly illuminating a few obstructions. 

A bench, similarly made out of metal, a few objects stacked on the top racks that reminded the teens of airplane luggage shelves, they could now firmly say it was a ship, unlike all earth designs but a ship all the same. From their perspective they could see the wind shield, a one sided tinted window that showed a pile of sand and a glimpse of a starry sky that was turning blue, partly blocked by a large object or block in the middle. 

Light streamed in from the smallest spaces and the tiniest cracks, it would have been something out of a horror movie with the creaking metal and half buried but Pidge only had eyes for the purple and overlapping metals of the interior, advanced and beautifully asymmetrical. 

Lance scramble to get inside. Marvelling at the difference, unlike any ship he had ridden both in fighter class and cargo division. The walls showed no damage unlike the exterior aside from the light making its way through the impossibly small cracks in some of the structure. 

Pidge still laid on their stomach in the makeshift entrance, watching everything with wide eyes, they had moved their glasses to the top of their head as if that would help them take it in clearly. 

They both stayed silent, not for the sake of the serene but for the pressure of discovery weighting on their lungs. Lance caught their eye and pointed to what must have been the cockpit. Pidge’s mouth was open in blind curiosity and something flinted in their eye, nodding firmly. 

The boy began to advance. He tried to look around the obtuse object and see around it without getting too close, his heart was beating like a drum, loud in his ears. 

“Lance what is it?” Pidge whispered. Lance jumped and didn't look back, reaching out to the chair but pausing, hesitating in the face of danger but finally, he hooked his fingers around the top and looked around. 

In the chair laid a limp pilot. Lance gasped and staggered backwards. Pidge took that sound as bad and shrieked. From the inside he could hear Hunk calling out to them. When the figure didn’t suddenly come to life and strangle him Lance placed a hand on his heart and sagged. 

“Lance you gave me a heart attack!” Pidge hissed. 

Lance felt sweat drip down his face but he gave a wide grin, “There is someone in here!” 

“What!” Hunk shouted, muffed. Lance ignored the two while they immediately started to freak out. Lance took the opportunity to tap the figure on the shoulder. When they didn’t react Lance shook them. 

Their helmet dipped to their chest. Lance noted the broken visor and the almost identical crack on the windshield. Cutting the view in half.

“Come on guys we have to go!” Hunk called out, knocking on the ship. 

“We can’t leave this guy behind, come on Pidge, help me!” Pidge scrambled to pull themselves inside. Hunk’s frantic calls spurred them on and they eventually got the pilot to the entrance. Their helmet scraped against the hole but made it through. 

“Hunk, help us!” Lance called and two hands pulled the pilot from the shoulder. Lance and Pidge spilled out after it. Hunk fumbled with the figure despite their small frame and light weight he awkwardly held them as if it hurt to touch them.

“Is this the alien? Did we actually find an alien!” 

“I mean, I think so?” Pidge shrugged.

Hunk’s mouth fell, “I did not sign up for this! I want to go back to bed!” 

“You can go to bed after we sneak this alien-man away from the government,” Lance said, taking the whole situation in stride and near breathless. 

“And how are we going to do that? The Garrison is on lockdown, we don't have a car, the patrols are coming towards us and we have nowhere to go!” Hunk shouted, finally deciding to haul the figure over his shoulder. Lance watched the their head loll and realised just how much smaller the pilot was compared to himself. 

Pidge’s eyes flickered, from the sky to the crashed ship to the cliffs before deciding something. They stared at hunk, determined, “I have a place.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOooooOOOOOO
> 
> Can anyone guess what Pidge is talking about? Where are we going????
> 
> Dont be afraid to point out mistakes or correct me! I just want to improve <3
> 
> Have a good day you guys!


	3. Disbelief and Inevitable Discourse

That place Pidge had mentioned turned out to be a shack, in the middle of the desert, with no air conditioning and a roof that was caving in.

Inside, papers lined the floor and books were stacked on top of eachother in each corner. A dusty couch framed a single window with its very own singular glass pane, the others were long gone as shown by the neglection of the wood.The sun rose giving everything a serene orange hue. Dust floated in the sun’s rays.

Lance marveled at it all, “Pidge this is like hermit level nine thousand,”

“How did you find this place?” Hunk stepped around a long coffee table that was raw around the edges, walking up to a wall with a sheet covering it. Fingering the fabric he began to pull it.

Pidge held up their arms in alarm, “Wait, wait, wait, don't touch that-” The sheet slid off cleanly and dusk flew around in tornadoes causing the occupants to cover their mouths and shield their eyes. 

Under the cover was a rabid crosshair section of a mutilated plan, pictures and graphs were littered and stuck to the wooden wall with pins with cliche red string connecting the dots. Lance made a face at the mess and Pidge pressed their palms into their eyes. Sighing heavily they took the sheet from Hunk’s grasp and started to fold it, acting as if they hadn't seen the obvious sign of a crazy person behind them. 

Like the nerd he truly was Hunk took the whole thing in, carefully reading every note and taped data reading, “This is-”

“Weird, like, weird-er!” Lance said. 

Pidge raised a single eyebrow, “Weirder than a literal alien?”

He nodded, “It’s definitely getting to that point,” 

They rolled their eyes and placed the sheet on the couch, “Bring him here,” Hunk complied, walking out to pick up the mysterious pilot that they had laid on the steps in order to open the barricaded door. 

Pidge had a separate entrance, taking the time to dig out a small entrance that only they and other small animals could get into, with the refuge now open to the other two teens they had to finally break in the boards that covered the door. They had crumbled with a single kick. 

“How did you even find this place?” Hunk asked, holding the figure and awkwardly placing them on the couch, head on top of the folded blanket as a makeshift pillow. Their limb head leaned to the side. Their visor reflected the whole room. Hunk shivered, wondering what lied under the helmet. 

Pidge shrugged, “I couldn’t get a proper signal originally from the garrison base so I just went into the desert,” They gestured to the shack, sitting down on top of a stack of large textbooks on biology, “Found this place. Nobody has been here for years, trust me, and I don’t think they are coming back,” 

“I am going to ignore how ominous that sounds,” Hunk muttered. 

Lance stood over the figure, gingerly taking their wrist between his fingers and feeling their pulse through fabric. Slow and heavy. “I take this isn't a men in black situation?” 

“Well-” Hunk sat down, shuffling around a few papers, “I doubt the garrison is a friendly government-alien alliance organisation that grants travel permits-”

“-They would cut anything that didn’t look human up,” Pidge deadpanned.

“Yes, thank you Pidge for that image,” 

Lance screwed up his nose, “It doesn’t matter now I guess, Welcome to crime,” 

Hunk choked, “We aren’t seriously keeping it right?”

“Are you kidding me Hunk?” 

“It’s human shaped that has to count for something!” Lance said. 

Hunk opened his hands, “It’s a real life alien Lance!” 

“Yes. An alien that’s smaller than me!” They tall boy looked at the figure, they had yet to see a sliver of skin if it even had some but they could feel something akin to a heavy weight lie on their shoulders, “We can’t let anyone take him away, the police or the garrison- we can't, they would-”

“What are we supposed to do then?” Hunk shouted.

There was silence for a moment and Pidge rubbed their temples, “First thing first, the garrison probably hasn’t noticed we are missing, we are about an hour away on foot and with daylight it's about a half hour drive to here. That being said someone will notice we are gone eventually…” 

“People take vacations and down time on the weekends all the time, if we can make it to the weekend we will be fine,” Lance shrugged. Hunk leaned heavily into his hands. 

“That is still two days away,” Hunk muttered, muffled from his palm. “We can’t let an illegal alien be alone for 48 hours straight,” 

“I mean it's technically not illegal alien?” Lance said. 

Pidge laughed without humour, “There is no law against or for interstellar immigrants so I would say from here on out we are going off book,” 

“I feel like this is way more exciting when the characters actually have a plan,” Lance muttered.

Hunk grimly smiled, staring at something in the distance, “For the last time this isn't a movie, we are children harbouring an alien in a desert shack, there is nothing cliche about this,” 

Pidge relaxed against the wall, it creaked in response but they didn’t seem concerned, “I could set up a monitoring system,” 

“How long will that take?” Hunk asked.

They shrugged, “Give me forty minutes,” 

Lance held up his hands, “So are we just counting on the alien being asleep for the next two days straight?” Pidge shrugged.

“If it isn't already dead.” Lance whipped his head around to look at the figure watching the subtle rise and fall of their chest. 

“What if it can’t breathe in our atmosphere?” 

Hunk considered it, “It hasn’t died already, it’s heartbeat and breathing isn't different from the last ten minutes, it has a cracked wiser,” He listed things as if he was a medical student and not a sea sick pilot, “I think we will be fine… though are we certain it will stay asleep?” 

Pidge gave a funny look, “I don't know, does anyone know how long aliens who crash from outer space like to sleep for?” Lane rolled his eyes at the smaller cadet.

“Ha ha, very funny, wow look at how hilarious that joke was, wasn’t it just so hilariously funny Hunk?” 

Hunk just set to work, ignoring the two’s bickering and started to sort the books and papers into piles. Amongst the work and seemingly endless piles of numbers he realised, that the two were not fighting like before and wondered if in the midst or transporting an unknown alien entity from a crashed advanced ship into a secret abandoned desert shack from straight out of a horror movie they had finally become a team. 

He found he didn’t really mind the outcome. 

So Pidge set up two camera in the shack, fashioned from spare wires and scraps of broken camcorders they found behind the couch. They connected the system via a spare usb that for some reason Pidge always had on them and the three left the shack while the sky was still tinged pink. 

Before leaving they briefly considered the option of the alien waking up. Hunk had been adamant to not remove any clothing including the large helmet but was quickly persuaded to at least have some precautions. 

They ended up tying the alien’s shoes to the couch. A large rope wrapped around the arm of the cushion and loosely wrapped around the pilot’s ankle. Deemed acceptable for the moment and still humane, they moved out.

Back at the garrison, after a much longer and elaborate plan or enterance the trio could safely say that getting in was harder than getting out. With the facility on high alert from the recent lockdown it was near impossible to find an unlocked door. 

They ended in their dorms without being spotted but just barely, a few tears and strands of hair was left behind. 

Now the three waited for the officers to release them from their rooms, letting them spend their day properly contained and regulated by starting with breakfast. Coming down from their adrenaline high they stayed in Lance and Hunk’s shared dorm. A few eyes peeked around the doors every now and again but besides that all the students were obeying the teachers and staying put. 

Lance was laying on his bed, tossing a soft ball up in the air and catching it. After a few tosses he misses and it lands on his face before bouncing off and landing across the room. He stares at it sullenly from where he is but doesnt make a move to retrieve it. 

“Oh thank god, I thought I would have to throw that ball out into the hallway,” Lance scowls at Pidge’s remark but doesn't reply. 

Hunk turns around in his desk chair, wringing his hands over the back of the seat, “Anything change?” 

Pidge clicks on the tablet that they set up as a monitor for what seems like the millionth time, “Nope.” 

Lance scrunches his nose, “I can’t believe we found a real life alien and we just abandoned it for school!” He holds up his hands in front of his face as if they betrayed him, “I mean, who does that?” 

“People who need to stay subtle,” Pidge raises a single eyebrow, “Did you forget that we need to keep this thing a secret?” 

Hunk presses his lips together, “Do you think it can survive on Earth? What if it actually is like allergic to oxygen or something?”

Pidge hums, “We know nothing, get used to it.” 

The comment seems suddenly too heavy in the silence. Pidge sighs, watching the other two’s faces flicker from confusion to anger to concern, “Look, there is nothing we can do until the alien wakes up and we get out of school in two day, and yes we know nothing, our whole life is a lie because aliens are now real!” 

“So what should we do then?” Hunk asks.

“Wait. That’s all we can do.” Pidge says quietly, “Act normal and don't draw attention to ourselves. As soon as the alien wakes up we will be on a road to knowledge,” 

Lance and Hunk look at each other grim and filled with possibility. Pidge watches the two and wonders how they got mixed up in this mess in the first place. 

\-------

His limbs felt like metal were weighting them down, pressing him into a soft void of nothing and everything. Keith attempted to move but quickly gave up, not willing to leave the comfort of his current position. Distantly he realise he was somewhere unfamiliar and his eyes opened to a blurred world. 

Warm hues of orange and red gave him comfort. Keith closed his eyes, a silent noise in his throat. A prickling in his eyes and a dull lick at his chapped lips. He wished for water but couldn't move. 

Purple and red he remembered, Orange and yellow was replaced. Dimmed by the visor of his helmet. He wondered why we was wearing his helmet but batted at the stray thought like a child. With great strength he tilted his head to the side, letting it go limb. He wanted to curl up close to his ribs with a deep unregistered need to protect something but couldn't . 

Weight and heat and warmth, so nice and unfamiliar, contradictory to everything he knew, unfamiliar meant you had to learn, and to learn you had to hurt, he didn't want to hurt. 

Hurt. Warmth like blood coated his hands and he wiped it on the ground, feeling smooth metal catch under the pads of his gloves and spread the red like a message. Do not come here. Keith remembered the chill of a ship leaving its port. A blare of alarm and retreat. 

Keith remembered and yet, he did not feel it, like a blanket of bliss forgetting all he had done. Everything that was familiar was unlike everything now and Keith loved it.

The air encompassed him unlike the chill of space and a distant hum made Keith smile. 

It felt like home

\------

A thousand light years away another pod left its ship, followed, unwanted. The pod was alone and very, very afraid with nothing more than a year or two of guilt and a destiny on its mind, locked and very far away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dont forget to comment your thoughts! I really enjoy reading your thoughts and I put a lot of symbolism into this chapter for some reason haha. That last paragraph seemed especially weird right? 0.0
> 
> Look out for the next chapter! 
> 
> Until next time my dudes! <3


	4. Flickering Screens and Tense Conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who commented and omg I lost my shit reading some of them like one in particular, the person who just wrote "more" and nothing else I swear I laughed for three days I loved it!
> 
> This chapter was a long time coming and you know why? Cause I have about 8 chapters pre-written but I though it was a good idea to change a minor plot point in the previous chapter so I had to rewrite this one to make sense! It took me so long and I have to admit I did procrastinate like 80% of it but im here now!

Due to the lockdown the classes were shortened, more time was spent in dorms and an early lunch was made. No one was happy about it, even the lunch ladies were grumbling and looked particularly frazzled. 

The officers were on high alert, snapping at teens who spoke too loudly or even looked in the wrong direction. Resulting in having the tense, irritable mood catch onto the students. Hushed conversations were all around them and didn't stop in the classes. The teachers abandoned all lesson plans and most spent the time talking to the officers guarding the door out of the side of their mouths. 

A few teachers bothered to hand out worksheets or homework but barely anyone gave it a glance, instead turning to each other. Pidge stole glances at the monitor, flicking it on and off every minute or so but nothing changed. 

Their unconscious fugitive lay motionless and it was weighing heavily on all their nerves. In their attempts to act like good innocent students they were unnaturally quiet and stared in one spot, not trying to act out or look at eachother for fear of exposing their secret. 

Lance in particular spent time twiddling his thumbs, physically keeping his knee from bouncing under his desk and often peeking at the guns the officers were caring by their sides that seemed much more apparent all of a sudden. 

Hunk was put together more, he spent time with an open notebook not writing anything and instead staring at his pencil as if it was speaking to him. He was less pale than the morning, so far he hadn’t thrown up. Lance called it a new record for how much freakish stuff Hunk had gone through without expelling the contents of his stomach. 

Pidge spent the morning and the lunch period opening a few books, reading a couple pages then switching to another one. Not registering a single word. 

Until finally, it became too much. All the kids around them laughed and talked to each other, hypothesising the lockdown reason, they didn't flinch when Pidge slammed their book shut unlike Lance who almost jumped straight out of his seat; his chair scraped painfully against the ground, but still, no one looked up at the two. 

“What are you doing?” Lance hissed. 

Pidge rolled their shoulder and sighed loudly. “I can’t handle you.”

“Me!”

“Yes, you.” Pidge rolled their eyes, “You are giving off too much nervous energy, you’re acting like someone is going to knock down that door!” 

Lance shushed them, “It is a very real possibility!” He looked the door again very quickly. But neither the teacher or the guard looked to have heard or seen anything. 

“Nobody cares that we have an alien in our basement,” Pidge said, “You are going to expose us!” Lance flinched and his eyes turned to the ground.. 

Hunk looked up to the two and shrugged, “give him the tablet,” he said with a hint of exasperation. 

Pidge raised an eyebrow, “Excuse me? You want me to trust Lance of all people with my beloved technology?” But they handed the monitor to the other cadet nonetheless. 

Hunk turned his attention fully to the other boy, “Lance dont worry. If we get caught the government might only have to wipe our memories, because one,” He held up a single finger, “We are minors, two,” He held up another, “too much damage control, they can’t kill us, and three,” One more finger, “we did nothing wrong, we are just kids who watched too many movies and thought it would be cool if we talked to an alien,” 

“Yeah no biggie Lance,” Pidge sarcastically said, leaning forward on their palm and rolling their eyes, giving off a perfect ‘you are all stupid’ attitude.

Lance scoffed, “Dude, that was not reassuring at all, plus you are the one who has been watching too many sci-fi movies!” He pointed to the other boy.

Lance clicked on the display, showing the slightly grainy footage of the figure on the couch, it’s restraints still loosely tied on their feet. 

A couple hours later, although slightly more calm Lance still checked the monitor frequently. They walked through the grey halls of the garrison, traveling to the simulation room for the final class of the day with their flight suits tucked under their arms. 

Lance was trailing slightly behind Hunk and PIdge who were talking techno mumble jumble and flicking their hands sometimes to prove a point. He flicked on the screen one more time before class. The normal piles of paper and books were framing the room, disorganized and yet clean, but the couch was empty. 

He froze, foot half way up, his blood cold. “Guys…” He whispered. He looked up and hurried to meet the two. 

“G-guys! Wait look at this-” 

“Lance, woah slow down,” Hunk held up his hands, slightly pushing against Lance’s shoulders away from his chest where the teen had run into. “What's wrong?” 

Lance stumbled for a bit, swallowing and attempting to talk but instead just showed them the screen. He pushed it into their face and Pidge leaned back to see it, adjusting their glasses back up the bridge of their nose to focus but never got the chance. 

The screen was taken from right out of their hands. Hunk let out a squeak and the other two jerked back as Commander Iverson stared at the trio, “What have I said about technology in the simulation hangar?” 

The three did not answer him and instead stood stock still and stared at him, mouths halfway open. Iverson's eye bored into them, “Leave all personal belongings in the dorm or change rooms and never bring it in. It is too late in the year for this and I will not be telling you again.” 

He finally took a glance at the illuminated monitor, scanning it with precision. The three cadets held their breath but the commander took no notice. He tucked it under his arm, “I don't want to see this again, am I clear?”

Lance nodded and then elbowed the two and together they stuttered out affirmative. Nodding frantically. With one final look, Iverson said, “You three will be going first, get into the flight suits, I expect no slacking off in my class,” he held up the monitor, “I will be keeping this with me.” 

As he walked away with the monitor safely secured the three seemed to deflate. Pidge held a hand to their chest to feel their heart beat as if it had finally stopped for good. 

“What just happened?” Hunk whispered, afraid to break the tense silence that paralyzed them. 

Lance took a shaky breath and grabbed the shirt sleeves of both cadets to march to the changing rooms. Ignoring both Pidge and Hunk until they got into the male changing room which was thankfully empty with rows upon rows of lockers. 

“Lance!” The tall boy finally turned around, shaken and wide eyed. 

Hunk looked worried but Pidge took charge, grabbing the Lance’s collar and dragging him down to a awkward hunch so Pidge could look him in the eye. Lance dropped his flight suit at the unexpected movement and it fell to the tiled floor, “What the hell was that about Mcclain?” 

Lance grabbed their wrist and opened his mouth to speak but Hunk pushed the two of them apart. Lance falling back a little farther and feeling the cool metal doors on his back, “Iverson didn’t see the purple pilot in the middle of the room? He still has one eye! He can’t be that blind!” 

“That’s what I was trying to tell you guys “The room-” he lowered this voice “was empty.” 

“What!” Hunk and Pidge shouted in unison. 

Lance continued, picking up his suit as he talked and tugging off his jeans. Hunk picked up his own suit “Completely gone, not on the couch, not on the floor or ceiling, just ‘poof’!” His fingers make a expanding gesture. 

Suddenly the door opened and another few male teenagers walked in chatting with each other and oblivious to the tense air. Hunk started to bite his lip. Pidge looked between all of them and furrowed their eyebrows. Taking their own uniform and heading to a stall to change without another word. 

Lance looked to Hunk and they both shared a complicated look but put on their suit and entered the hangar. A few minutes Pidge followed them, just in time to hear Iverson call all of the teams to attention. 

The whole time he spoke he gave the class the stink eye. Mood soured by late nights and restless students. “I hope you were listening when you learned how to ride a bike because this is nothing like it,” 

“First group, Mcclain you’re up!” 

Pidge swallowed and grit their teeth, pushing past the other two to enter the ship. Lance put a hand against his chest where the smaller cadet had shoved and looked up to Hunk who shrugged helplessly. 

Lance clenched his hand so hard he thought his fingers would fall off and buckled himself in, “Let's blow this popsicle stand,” he muttered. Placing his grip firmly on the joysticks, distantly reminded of how different the console was to the real thing, and watched the screen glow.

\------

Two hours later they had gotten out of class with nothing more than a reprimand and a public humiliation, as if they needed something else to separate the three from their classmates. 

They had failed, but as a team. Teamwork as a whole had vastly been improved but with leftover tension Pidge refused to respond to commands and Lance was distracted. No amount of teamwork could fix Hunk’s motion sickness but that could be considered the only normal part of the simulation. Lance would have landed the ship no problem if the gearbox had not been compromised and Pidge refused to enact the landing thrusters. 

Lance didn't know if it was his fault that Pidge was mad or that the whole thing about losing a whole alien was putting them on edge. 

Iverson’s one uncovered eye narrowed with restrained emotion but eventually gave back the monitor twenty minutes after the class had finished. Pidge held it in a death grip, storming out of the hangar and daring anyone to take it away. Hunk and Lance had no choice but to follow straight to their shared dorm. 

Hunk closed the door behind them while Pidge finally flicked the switch to turn it on. Only to fail, the device refused to light up. “What’s wrong oh my god what happened!” Lance yelled, trying to take the device out of their hands. 

Pidge’s eyebrows furrowed and wretched the device out of Lance’s grip carelessly. They walked to the other side of the room still flicking the switch and then shaking the monitor. Speaking for the first time since the locker room. The two boys were surprised to hear the hopeless tone coming from the determined Pidge’s lips, “I don't know, I don't know, why-”

“What’s wrong?” Hunk asked gently.

Pidge gave up, pressing their palm into their forehead and screwing their eyes shut, “The blasted thing wont turn on!”

“Did Iverson do something?” 

“How could he? He thinks it’s some supermarket tablet! My tech is not supermarket material!” They shrieked.

“Did the alien do something to the camera?”

Pidge’s lips twitched, looking beyond words. For a moment they let the device go, setting it with a clatter on the desk next to Lance’s bed, Lance tapped the screen a few times as if it would magically come to life. Hunk wrung his hands and looked over the three. 

“Thats it!” Pidge snarled rapidly changing moods, their cheeks growing red. They looked under the bed and took out a duffle bag, garrison issued. The younger cadet began going through all the drawers and stuffing clumps of clothing into it, not caring which they took. 

Lance squaked and started picking up the clothing they let fall to the ground, stuffing it back into the drawers almost as quick as Pidge was taking it out. 

“What? What did you decide!” Hunk asked, voice much lower and shoulders somewhat hunched. 

“Stop doing that!” Lance screeched, trying to wrench a travel bag out of Pidge’s grasp. PIdge let go of it and turned to Hunk, Lance fell to the ground. 

Staring straight into his eyes Pidge said, “We are leaving.”

Hunk frowned, “uh, what?”

Lance looked up to the other two, arms full of numerous items and looking like a hoarder protecting their stash. Pidge took a deep breath, adjusting their glasses and appearing to calm slightly, but their redness stayed in their cheeks, hot and angry. 

They zipped up the bulging duffle bag and took the monitor into their teeth, juggling the items they hobbled to the door, “We are leaving!” They said through their teeth, barely legible. Pidge opened the door and right there in the frame, standing over the cadet with hands folded behind his back was Iverson with his famous scowl. 

“Leaving cadets?” He said, his voice violently low. 

The trio froze and stared at their superior. Pidge’s eyes widened and the device fell from their jaw onto their arms, balancing precariously on the stack of the hastily stuffed duffle bag.

Lance chuckled nervously and stood, slowly as if trying not to spook an animal. He took Pidge’s shoulders and moved them away from Iverson, “Oh nothing! We were just talking about how Pidg- uh Gunderson was going to be leaving the dorm and taking all their stuff into-”

“I did not ask.” 

With that simple sentence, Lance’s stumbled lie got caught in this throat. Hunk flinched, his arms coming to the sides with stiff attention. 

Iverson walked into the dorm, shutting the door behind him without a glance and the three cadets gulped. 

The imposing figure of Iverson in the strained yellow lighting of the dormroom was hauntingly intimidating. His uniformed body was a great contrast to the informal style of the room. Bare walls covered in photos and posters with standard thin beds barely ruffled to show the military cleaning style they had not managed to stop from being ingrained into their heads. 

The only thing the room and the superior had in common was the smell. Stale sweat and the stench of a million teenage souls frightened into submission. 

“You three were not recorded to be in your dorms during the lockdown procedure,” Iverson didn't blink, “nor were you in any classroom or reported by any officer in this building… care to tell me where you were, cadets?” 

The three stared back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff getting heated am I right?
> 
> I was debating on Iverson have two eyes or one but I started looking it up and ya know how the fandom like exploded cause supposedly Keith punched Iverson and we (the whole fandom) just decided that the punch permanently affected his eye? Well apparently he had only one functioning eye in Keith's flashbacks and no one noticed it! Or at least I didnt notice it!
> 
> Make sure you comment, let me know what you think and give me ideas, you never know what I might take inspiration from!
> 
> Thank you to everyone, first multi-chapter fic and I cant believe how exhilarating it is ya know?


	5. Golden Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo everybody! Ive been gone a while but this is an extra long chapter for you!
> 
> Thanks everybody for sticking with me. Please believe me when I say I actually work on this story a lot. I just take a long time haha!!
> 
> Enjoy <3

“Well,” Iverson said, looking as if he wanted to be anywhere but here, “I’m waiting.” 

Lance’s throat was dry as he looked to his friends who seemed just as frozen as himself. He stuttered a weak excuse that trailed off halfway. It only seemed to frustrate the commander further; his lips pulled back until the barest glint of teeth appeared. 

“Cadets, you will go straight to the primary Admiral and report your whereabouts.” He didn't pause even to catch a breath. “Don't leave any detail out. I expect to see you for detention after dinner period in launch room B and don't think for one second that I won't be watching you for the rest of the year.” His eye squinted at them. The three teens shivered in the face of his intensity and for a second they all just stared. 

Iverson’s chin then tilted up. Lance nodded his head once in respect. Pidge and Hunk scrambled to follow his example. The commander stepped into the hall. With his back to the teens the three exchanged a conflicted look for a fraction of a second, a mixture of fear and anticipation, before being rushed out of the room. 

“Hurry up,” Iverson said. 

Pidge dropped everything they were carrying as they headed out. The fluorescent lights seemed to expose their recent private humiliation as they walked down the hall in strict single file. A few curious and brave cadets tucked their heads out of their doors but disappeared just as quickly. Iverson lead them all like sheep. 

The click of their shoes was the haunting tone of their inner torment as with each turn more and more people could see them be herded. It was easy for outsiders to connect the dots and realise that the resident trouble makers of the pilot class were at their old tricks and had finally got decently reprimanded from Iverson himself. 

A whisper or two made Lance’s cheeks flush, from his position he could see Hunk’s hands gripped behind his back with pale knuckles. Pidge walked with brilliant ease, knowledgeable of every nook and cranny of the building and seemingly aware of every step Iverson was to take. It appeared that Pidge had no sense of shame or regret for their bold escape but their tense jaw gave away every inch of uncertainty to those who were close enough to spy it.

They arrived at a door and Iverson gave two short knocks to the wood before it promptly swung open, revealing a woman wearing striped shoulders and badges on the front of her blazer. There were no smile lines on her face, only the deep marks made by the downturn of lips. 

“Commander,” she said, face impassive. Her head dipped to Iverson and then to the three teens, “Gunderson, Garrett, McClain.”

“Yes, ma’am” Hunk said. They two other cadet’s eyes turned to the ground, familiar with the Admiral already. 

Iverson’s eyebrows furrowed as if they had already cussed out and shamed the facility within the second they made a sound, “These three were not reported on property during and before the lockdown.”

“And you brought them to me?” 

Iverson, for the first time the cadets could remember, had a flicker of uncertainty in his expression. The Admiral sighed but beckoned them inside, “If you must then sit.” 

Inside the room there was a desk with cold, uncomfortable metal chairs and another seat behind a clean desk. The name tag on top of the wood read ‘E. Sanda’. 

“I have contacted their respective guardians and-” 

The Admiral help a single palm to quiet Iverson as she sat down, clasping her hands together, “You have brought them to me, I expect you kept to procedure beforehand and do not need a recountment,” She glanced up at them through half lidded eyes and a downturned nose. “Now you may leave us to discuss what occurred and the results.” 

Iverson’s lips soured and he nodded to the Admiral before leaving, closing the door behind him with a click that echoed in the silence. 

Admiral Sanda looked at them all, seeming to find what she was searching for as her form seemed to wilt. Her shoulders moulded from their impeccable straight line into a relaxed, natural shape while her hands brushed a few papers away. Her tone was blunt when she turned her superior battle stance directly towards the teens before her, “Really McClain? I expected more.”

Lance bit his cheek to keep his mouth shut, knowing his retorts had landed him on the wrong side of the teachers desk more than his actual misdoings had. “Apologies Ma’am,” he murmured, following Hunk’s lead. 

She waved her hand, “Won’t be the last time I’m certain… but I really wonder where you were this time. Hopefully you didn't find yourself in another girls dorm room,” Lance’s fingers dug into the sides of the chair to keep himself still. The Admiral continued, “Garrett, I respect you won’t follow in McClains footsteps and I advise you to find a new hobby rather than following that boy everywhere.” 

Her eyes were bored but she knew exactly what to say. Her words poked and prodded at the teen. She turned to the Pidge as the last cadet to address, blissfully ignoring the way Hunk shook and how Lance’s eyes misted over. 

“Gunderson-” 

“Miss!” Pidge shouted, as if the words had been building up throughout the exchange. Pidge’s shoulders rose to defend as their confidence died immediately after but they continued, this time quieter, ”With all due respect we weren’t breaking any rules. We were in the compound the entire time.”

Admiral Sanda tilted her head. Her eyes could melt steel. “So then, where were you during the lockdown? Where all personal and officers, highly trained officers, could not find you?” 

Pidge glanced from the corner of their eye to their friends who were wide eyed, almost pleading. 

“Uhh… Training!” The Admiral leaned forward her expression remaining unchanged as they listened, with no clear objection Pidge continued. They brought their hands up in some feign of innocence as if the physical reminder their they hands weren't red could help confice the officer, “We decided to go past curfew and get some… good old fashion team bonding!” Pidge grinned toothily. 

The youngest cadet cleared their throat, “Uh yes, we- we were not supposed to be in the flight simulation but we all decided it was a… good idea to get some extra training- all together!” 

Pidge looked to their fellow cadets and raised their eyebrows, expecting them to speak up. They nodded frantically, speaking at the same time in jumbled, half finished sentences.

“Yep- I mean… I know it was bad but-”

“We were just-”

“Training! Yes.” 

The Admiral watched them as their affirmations died down. She shook her head, “Cadets I do not need to tell you again what the repercussion of going late after curfew is. I do not need to inform you that your parents will be contacted and quite honestly I don't think a detention will fix this issue with the amount of times you all sneak and act out individually.” 

A small glimmer of hope grew in their chests. “I will say that from now on your quarters will have extra security measures, you will be forbidden from morning breaks, and instead will stay in class.” She looked at them, tired, and yet her eyes glimmered with something else, a playfulness or a secret they didn't know. 

Her tone suggested something heavy and for the first time it felt like something was really wrong with the encounter for the three cadets, “I don’t want to see you three in my office for a very long time. Good day to you cadets.” 

With that they all almost bolted from the room. Within the next hour everything that just occurred was ignored. They ran around the room making half-baked plans and packing everything they could. The trio had a bag each, stuffed with clothes, trinkets and a couple bags of food. When night hit and the first stars illuminated the orange sky the three teens walked away from the Garrison. 

\------------

Pidge, Hunk, and Lance walked the final steps onto the wooden porch, knocking their feet lightly on the steps to dislodge anything from the rivets in their shoes. Lance sat down heavily and took off his sneakers to dump out all the sand that had been collected during their trek. He sighed and wiped his brow. 

Hunk looked ready to collapse, cheeks blotchy red from exertion, while Pidge was the only one to have some semblance of composure, their hair was matted and their glasses kept slipping down their face. The cooling of the desert night was the only thing to keep them sane. A breeze brought goose bumps to their skin. 

They walked over to the door that was missing a handle and blatantly knocked on it, ignoring Hunk who had made an instinctive warning noise from the back of his throat.

“Hello? Any alien in here? We come in peace. Us lowly humans just want to talk.” There was silence in response and Pidge gave him a disappointed and unamused glint.

Lance looked out to the desert. Logically he knew that the alien could be anywhere. By the time they had left, it had been hours since they lost contact. He distantly wondered if the alien had reached Canada by the time they arrived or if it was already long dead. Dehydrated or starved in the hot, barren, desert. With no point of reference, Lance’s thoughts scurried and bred like wildfire, installing a small pinch of fear in him that said the alien was gone and so were their chances. 

The fact that the door had no lock, not even a handle, did not comfort him either.

Pidge shrugged at the two boys who had since put down their bags and slipped their own bag over their sore shoulder before entering the broken down shack. If the alien was still around and hadn’t heard the knocking, then the horrible creak the door made as it scraped along the floorboards would have made their entrance clear.

They all spilled around and over the door frame. Hunk and Lance peered over the smaller cadet’s head to spy inside without blocking a way for a quick escape. No one dared put a toe over the border. 

Inside there was nothing amiss. Pidge gasped and stumbled into the room, only missing a rotten hole in the ground by an inch. Lance and Hunk flinched at the sudden exclamation and watched as Pidge crouched low and brought was must have been the remains of the camera they used to monitor the alien to their chest as if they were cradling a baby. 

Pidge frowned at the exposed mechanics that spilled open. The lens was dislocated and lay on the ground like a faint mirror. A crack was in the corner that wasn’t there before and along with it, a small dent on the brim of the scope, as if it had been hit with something.

“I guess we know that it wasn’t a tech malfunction…” Lance murmured, still raking the room with his eyes to spot something before it jumped out. Pidge scowled at Lance’s comment but said nothing. 

“He really isn’t here anymore.” Hunk said, turning over a book with a single finger, as if he expected to see a creature hiding between the pages. Lance craned his neck to see the ceiling only to find no signs of anything that once might have made its escape. No marks, only a few, rather large, holes in the roof from erosion. 

He might of convinced himself the alien wasn't even real if not for what remained of the camera and some torn rope on the couch.

For a moment everyone was silent. Reflecting on what had happened and what they had given up to be there. Doubt, disbelief and hilarity made awful partners. Outside the window it was still light but deep reds and oranges conquered the sky, not a touch of blue remained. Lance rubbed his face, feeling a few grains of sand fall from the creases of his skin. 

Pidge sighed and took a seat on the couch, taking off their glasses. “What’s the game plan?” Lance asked. 

Hunk shook his head, “Sit tight for now. I am not moving for at least 10 hours.” He yawned and the other boy reciprocated. They unzipped their packs and brought out some fabrics. 

“We can’t go back to the Garrison until we find that alien!” Pidge said it with complete confidence, not even looking up from their reflection in their specs. 

“What?” Hunk’s eyebrows furrowed, “I am not giving up my entire life’s work for some alien hunt!” 

Pidge glared at the ground, “We can’t-”

“What do you mean we can’t? There is nothing telling us to find that thing in the first place!” 

“That’s not the point.”

“What is the point of this adventure then?” Hunk said, almost hissing the words, “Why are we out here, risking our education, our families, our lives for a creature that we only saw once? I don’t know about you guys but I am not ready to go to jail for invading official military sites!” 

Pidge bared their teeth, “This adventure- it’s important that we find that thing, bring it back, learn from it! Are you really going to take education and that manipulative school over the opportunity to learn from a completely new life form?” 

“This isn’t about the alien is it?” Hunk said, a realisation seemed to hit him, his eyes widened. “This is… you want to know more about it because of Kerberos!”

Lance, who had since stayed silent watching the conflict unfold, gasped, his jaw dropping to the ground. Pidge seemed to drain. Their shoulders curled in but their face did the opposite, they gritted their teeth with leashed anger. 

It was obvious in class, in training sessions, in practice simulations that something had affected Pidge. Often enough Iverson made a reference to Kerberos to teach a lesson or to discipline a student. The failed mission weighed heavily on the Garrison’s higher personnel but Iverson took it and ran with the guilt it carried. 

He used it to bring student’s egos down a notch, it was an infamous right of passage for freshmen. When Pidge got a whiff of it for the first time they went angry to a whole level above scary. They started spitting retorts, like a switch had been flicked on, their whole demeanour seemed to ward off others and suck the argument out of people. It was a miracle Pidge was not expelled on that day.

Lance would admit to them later that their attitude was admirable and inspiring in the sense of aiming to control and command others. He would tell Pidge that they acted like a leader in those terrifying moments but not a long term one and certainly not a nice one. 

“Shut up…” Pidge said, voice low, “Shut your mouth… shut up, shut up. Just shut up!” 

Pidge’s heavy breaths were the only sound as the two cadets faced off. Lance looked between his friends and carefully said, “It’s late… We should all get some rest, eat some food and then we can talk about this in the morning.”

Both cadets deflated and turned away. They each walked away with Pidge traveling right to the window, looking up at the stars. Lance sat in the middle, a mediator but also a wedge between the two. He didn't know if his position was good or bad. 

The tense silence got to Lance and, before he knew it, his mouth was opening to clear the air, “This alien will be found… One way or another.” Lance smiled sadly and raised a fist to the air, “Alien busters!” 

Pidge turned around to flash a grin as they shook their head. They joined Lance and put their fists together. “Alien busters,” Pidge said. They both turned to Hunk, who smiled. Eyes a bit shiny. He joined the missing space and together they all shouted at the same time.

“Alien busters!” Their cry traveled across the desert along with their following laughter. 

Between the three of them they had little to prepare for the cold desert night but with a combination of shirts, jackets, towels, and socks they all bundled up with their heaviest clothing and laid around a candle lantern, as if it was a warm campfire. 

They rummaged around the room and their bags for food and ended up with a bag of opened skittles that were partially melted into a disgusting brown colour from the desert’s heat, a pack of crackers, and several Garrison issued protein bars. 

Pidge turned their nose at the variety of military rations but quickly claimed the skittles with a ferocity that suggested that they had not ate in days rather than hours. Hunk stuck out his tongue at the behaviour and opened a grain and almond flavoured granola bar instead. 

Out of curiosity Lance read the ingredients of the ration out loud from under the soft, orange light. They all laughed at the lack of natural ingredients and plethora of weird chemical names. 

“It’s not edible!” The youngest teen had cried, the hood of an old swimming team sweatshirt tucked over their head to contain their hair. With their glasses pushed to their forehead it made Pidge look even younger and if Lance dared say it, even nerdier. 

The cadets were surrounded by a fortress of books they had stacked into piles, constructed beforehand when they spent the last hours of golden light covering the windows and doors to hopefully give some resistance to the weather while also stopping the light from shining through and giving away their presence.

Hunk would sometimes open a book and flip through its pages, faded lines and waterlogged stories didn’t make for good reading material but he managed to gather enough to realise that most of the books were astrology, geology and for some reason, gravity textbooks and theories. Not many of them had pictures, much to Lance’s displeasure, but he took joy in flipping to a random page and reading the out of context, muddled, sentences to form his own stories, including one about a pirate riding the SS. St. Accretionary wedge, a ship that could travel underneath the Earth’s crust. 

When they all settled for bed it began to get even colder. Hunk must have been wearing three shirts and was adamant about keeping his shoes on. Lance decided to take the numerous pairs of socks he owned to make a long chain and loop it around his neck to act like a scarf. He also layered as many as he could over his toes, hands, and up his sleeves. 

They laughed and grinned throughout the evening, happy to spend time with each other in the makeshift sleepover that had developed. They pushed down thoughts of the future and ignored the sense of dread that would await them in the morning, when the consequences of running away, leaving behind their families and communication, would finally catch up.

During the night Lance smiled, dopey with late night endorphins, and asked, “Can you believe it?” 

Hunk didn't move from his position on the floor but instead tilted his chin up to show he was listening. Pidge turned over with some difficulty, having swept themselves into a ball of mismatched fabrics. Their voices were low, exhaustion had finally settled in and the beauty of the night sky had shifted the teens into a state of awe and reverence. 

“Believe what?” The youngest cadet asked, eyes half closed.

Lance gave a small chuckle and looked up, watching the stars flicker through the holes in the decayed roof. “We are here… We are right here, because we ran away from our lives because we were chasing an alien.”

Pidge’s head swayed, “But we are,” something sad had been hinted at throughout the night, something inevitable and calm, “We are chasing an alien.” 

Hunk sighed, “Tomorrow. We are chasing an alien tomorrow,” and he turned over, his back to his friends and the glowing lamp. 

The youngest teen rolled their eyes. After only a moment or two Hunk started to snore softly. They caught each other's eye and smiled. Lance shook his head and burrowed under the blankets. “Good night,” he whispered. 

Pidge turned off the lamp with a click and whispered back. The moon’s light was left to filter through the cracks of the walls and glint in what was left of the glass in the corners of the window.

Drifting in and out of consciousness, Lance could not help but dream of the last time he stayed outside to sleep. He could remember hating camping, the cold, the quiet, the unfamiliar beds, but now as Lance shuffled and gazed to his friends, to the shack and to the moon he couldn't help but inhale and love it. A deep sense of security settled in his bones and nerves that he never found in the constantly rumbling walls of the Garrison. 

He slept again only to be awoken to a sudden crack. His eyes snapped open and he froze. For a moment, only panic existed. When nothing lunged out of the darkness, he relaxed once more. Pidge mumbled something in their sleep beside him, a rebuttal against an unknown foe. They rolled over, tangling further into their bedding until it must have been painful. 

Lance smiled at them. Pidge’s sprawled form and Hunk’s open mouth; his snoring sounded more like a lion's roar than he remember it being in their shared dorm. He closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the presence of his friends in such a hushed time of night. 

Something shuffled, padding and brushing against heavy wood, followed by the creak of weight and then silence. 

His lungs froze, the hair on the back of his neck raised, and goosebumps immediately traveled up his limbs as he automatically shifted into a panic. Mouth dry and arms locked, he couldn't move an inch. Afraid a single movement would awaken the thing that was outside he sat helplessly with a million thoughts running through his head while the ever present chant of “run, run, run” suddenly increased into an internal shriek. 

Lance felt a shiver rock up his spine, giving him the push to finally move. He leaned over with a single trembling arm to hold himself up while he stretched as far as he could to poke Pidge. The skin on his arm dug into the rotting wood uncomfortably and Lance bit his lip to keep silent but despite his effort the sleeping teen didn’t even make a sound.

Lance whispered their name and pushed the teen more firmly, shaking them when they didn't wake. Pidge mumbled something and their eyes opened, blinking blearily up at him for a second before swaying their head and covering their eyes with their hands. They sat up to squint at their disturbance, “What?” 

“I heard something.” Lance whispered. His body was shaking. 

“The wind,” Pidge said. They yawned and went to lay back down but Lance dug his nails in.

Pidge shook him off and snapped, rubbing the indent on their skin, “What’s ‘ur deal man?” 

Lance opened his mouth to insist there was something outside, stalking, waiting, but before he could say anything there was a long scratch against the wall before scuttering. The sounds traveled up. 

Pidge finally snapped to attention, mouth open wide. Lance made a sound in the back of his throat and Pidge leaned over to turn on the lamp. Everything seemed to speed up as they went into action. Lance went to wake Hunk. The smallest cadet stood up in the cold air as if to ready for an attack, their eyes glancing all around the room. 

Something moved on the roof. A few shingles fell off and broke on the porch. Pidge’s gaze snapped up in response while Hunk and Lance remained on the ground.

They inhaled sharply as something large walked across the roof, covering a few of the holes in the ceiling, blocking out the stars briefly before showing the natural lights again. 

“What’s going on?” Hunk hissed. The teens said nothing but in answer another shingle fell, smashing loudly. The thing on the roof scrambled around before settling. Leaving everything in deadly silence. With loud heartbeats, the three teens looked to each other and spied a mirror of fear and panic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm learning as I go and I am so thankful that there are people that I can talk to who will critique and help me improve along the way! I'd like to think that I am getting a better grasp on the character but I honestly have no clue! Writing this was blur of the Voltron wiki and Amy Schumer.... (dont ask)
> 
> You guys are awesome like seriously!!!!!
> 
> Dont forget to leave a comment on your predictions! The trio should be meeting Keith soon :0


	6. Fading footsteps and Fading Skies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Summer! And I finally got this chapter out :D
> 
> On a different note I think one of the reason this took such a long time is because I dont have an solid beta group! (and also because this is the longest chapter so far :>) 
> 
> I usually ask a bunch of friends if they want to edit (I say bunch but I actually mean like 3) but they were all busy sooooo is there anyone that is reading this story that would like to read a couple chapters early? You would have the pleasure of reading it before anyone else, giving story notes and changing the direction of chapters as well as figuring out how to translate 2 am me to comprehensible fiction! 
> 
> Please leave a comment or message me if you want some beta experience!!! <3

Keith was woken by a painful throb in his head. He opened his eyes, only to feel intense pressure behind them, like they would push out of their sockets. His lungs gave a squeeze as for a second he forgot how to inhale. Keith tried to bring his hands to his head and curl up into a protective ball, only to be stopped by a tug on his wrists and a cold helmet. 

The metal of his helmet was smooth and slid along the material he laid on without friction.The rim cut into the back on his head, Keith tilted his chin to relieve the prick. He sighed in relief, pulling harder at the restraints until they loosened without fuss. 

He twisted the helmet and tugged it off. Feeling cool air immediately flood his starved lungs and brush his ruffled hair which was greasy and unkempt, he felt its composed heaviness rest between his shoulders. 

Finally he ran his hands over his head, massaging his temples and curling them into the crown of his skull, brushing the base of his ears and straightening the unruly strands. When his hands came away to rub at his eyes, the tips of his gloved fingers were speckled with dirt, ash and sand that stood out against the dark material.

Like a newborn his eyes flickered, heavy and sensitive to the light. The light, unlike anything Galran made, the pure warmth it gave off. The heat settled deep into his skin. Keith’s lungs expanded, taking in the clear atmosphere and exhalling the dust that lay on his tongue. 

Around him was the unnatural sight of the absence of metal. Instead of purple, glowing pinks and strict military black there was yellow, brown and green. His bed was dull and natural, the texture could be felt through his thick gloves, he ached to rub his face on it. It was the first thing he had touched that wasn't smooth and cold. It felt like life. 

The sight of the room was breathtaking, almost completely distracting him from the fact that he was in the unknown, in a dangerous place, with no sign of the Galra in the decorations or materials. Whether the absence of such an influence was a good thing or bad Keith had no clue. 

Getting to his feet was a struggle. His back arched in cursed harmony with his head. He braced a palm on his forehead but the throb did not subside until he was fully upright and completely still. A whine had stuck behind his teeth, grating on his parched throat. 

When he looked up the world seemed softer. 

Keith stumbled, taking his time while he walked to the nearest window where a breeze wafted through, smelling the dryness and light. 

He couldn't stop himself from losing himself in the view. The horizon was a pure, rich blue, a single yellow star hung overhead. The land was flat and white as far as he could see. For the first time he started to worry, the feeling brewed in his gut. The relief of being finally without the toxic hierarchy he grew under was overwhelmed by the feeling of the desolate land pressing into his head, a different headache. 

A warm wind, full of heat, nothing ruffled his ears and rose the end of his braid above his flight suit. Keith allowed his jaw to relax, his lips parted to taste the air only to tense and jump as something made a sound behind him. He whirled around to spot it, a script, a book that had fallen half open on the wooden floor. The brown faded fake leather stretched over a handful of water warped pages, stained with age that Keith was most familiar with. When he bent over his ribs flared up in pain but he ignored it to delicately trail a finger over the cover and spine.

He removed his gloves, stretching his fingers to feel the fresh air brush his knuckles before feeling the pages. Years and years ago, when he had been more useful as a slave than a soldier he would transport and oversee data pads but on rare moments he would be sent to the deepest corners of the trading ships to find old scripts. They were records of things that were learned before the Galra advanced headfirst into their technology, with his life surrounded by holograms Keith can’t fathom a time so rudimentary.

Keith remembered cutting his thumb on one of the records, carrying them and lovingly handling them as the pages would fall out of their binding with the slightest touch. He remembered trailing his fingers over the script and finding the words had torn up in the wake of his skin. He couldn't help but remember himself using the pages as fuel, building flames that swallowed an entire ship. 

The leather bound book was in better condition than the old records. Picking it up he felt the sturdiness, once flexible, but after a long time of water and wind they became stiff, forming bends in the pages.

The pages were very different than the old Galran records. Pages upon pages of text he couldn't read in perfect, straight, mechanically written lines. His ears twitched, curious. 

He skimmed each page. Picking out some repeated sentences and words until he came across the very last page of the book where an impressive printed diagram lay, coloured in with reds and blues. It was a single solar system, labeled with things he couldn't read, on it was the depiction of nine planets.

Keith’s curiosity turned rotten, starved for reason and context, he was once again without answers and left helpless. His lips curled to reveal teeth and the scripture hit the wall. Loud in the deafening silence of the room. His hands twitched at his sides, traveling up his forearms and onto his back, chasing away imaginary bugs that plagued his mind. He couldn't stand the absolute nothing around him. He couldn't stand being so dependent, left to break in the silence until whatever lived here returned for their prize. 

He kicked the fragile pages across the room, punching the wall in rage. Trying to make himself louder and louder to feel less controlled, powerless, in the face of stillness

Keith rammed himself into the opposite wall and stumbled, sliding down to brace himself for a mere second his heel. As soon as he spied the open sky he was gone. Vaulting over the edge of the opening and falling onto the ground which gave way under his feet and shifted at the slightest breath.

Panting, he trailed a hand across the ground to feel the sand attach itself to his sweaty palm. Impulsively he removed his boot, leaving on his foot brace, and let himself sink. The other foot followed suit and soon his toes were completely enveloped in the scorching sand. 

The farther he fell the cooler it became. As the moments passed, his heels digging side by side into the floor, he felt the emotions battling in his chest cool as well. Keith let himself feel things again. The smell and texture under his sole that he had nearly forgotten in the cruel numbness of Galran life where the air was filtered so much sometimes Keith would cough and his spit would be speckled with grey dots.

His eyes burned with tears, yet he couldn't help but laugh, chuckling and shaking as he spun around and kicked the sand playfully. He ran around the lone structure a few times and observed the half buried projects that were long since abandoned.

Free from the empire’s constant gaze he tripped and tumbled, knees weak at every turn and breathless from relief instead of exhaustion. His lips spread revealing canines and out let a bark of laughter that challenged the bright yellow star in the sky.

Keith couldn't help but think, ‘crashing the escape pod was the best thing that had ever happened to me’.

Then he stopped, stuttered like a program put on pause and raised a hand to hold his aching ribs as if to physically restrain his breath as the memories of the crash overwhelmed him, suffocating him. 

His pod, crashed, and slowly being buried by the sand far away. Galra looking for him, waiting for him to show, burning, flames behind him as he ran and ran until finally-. He felt the impact like it was happening all over again, crunching impossibly close to the console and flinging back to rest his head against the chair to watch the ground rapidly approaching. Behind him he left a burning vessel but the flame still curled up his sides. Blood rushed down his chin. Cracked glass like webs. Keith heaved, something crawling up his throat. 

He clasped his hand over his mouth to keep the feeling down but it spilled over his bare fingers. Choking him while he breathed in the sickness. 

He looked around but there was nothing, empty land and no pod. There was no empire purple, he was but a small speck of metal in a vast land of bland splotchy colors, beige and brown and blue. 

Keith swallowed chunks, trying to not imagine them as pieces of his tongue or teeth and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. 

Then he was back inside, falling over himself as he searched the room for clues, he looked under the couch, under the broken floorboards. He peels back the decorations only to find lines of faded paint and cracks in the walls. He tears apart the bookshelf to find something that will help him. He finds a book with a cover covered in green and blue splotches, inside are pictures and a million intersecting lines that resemble red and yellow wires stretched over a circuit board, a book with pages full of bold script and sets to work. He studied them for anything familiar, a galaxy or planet but to no use. Coloured pictures but no Galran purple. 

Tossing them both to the wall. Dust falls from the ceiling on impact. Then Keith screams; louder, feral, tearing at his throat and bringing saliva to his lips. He howls at the sky for what seems like far longer than an eternity, as he sobs the colours of the sky start to change from their blue to a rich orange. 

Mixtures of fluids, vomit, saliva and tears marr Keith’s face. He wipes them off with his palm and smothers their entrance with the crook of his elbow or the bite of his knuckles but with every drop he is aware that there is no water source to aid him and every drop should be savoured. Not spilled over the wooden floor. 

His dirty nails scratch at the walls, the ground and the sand. Storms of dust swept by in a dance at his feet. His hair stiffens in the afterglow of the star as it leaves the sky and a lone moon rises from the other side, bringing with it painfully cold winds that prickled his face and hands, slowly sucking the warmth out of him. 

Keith tore apart the ground, digging and inhaling sand. He was forced to stop once it became suffocating. When his ribs ached in a new way and his ears rang. He felt desperate for breath and climbed the structure to get away from the itchy sand. His foot punctured through the roof but Keith ignores it, ignores the sound. 

He stood on the highest peak and takes a moment to rest. 

His headache has cleared but his fingers pressing down on his hairline gives a new pain. Sitting hurts more than standing but Keith dangles his uncovered feet over the edge and swayed. The cold breeze nipped at his uncovered feet.

He doesn’t move from that position. His heartbeat slows till it’s nearly flat. He starts to pretend that he had no injuries, breathing with careful precision. All his shaking fades into the numb silence that he began with.

He wished something that he cannot put into words. His chin rested on his chest, he nearly falls over the edge of sleep but was awoken once again. It felt as if something shook the area, but when his eyes opened, there is nothing. 

Keith shook his head to remind himself that he was alone then rotated his ears as another confirmation, never trusting just one of his senses. He is alone except for the whistling wind that has nearly completely covered his destructive reign. A few deeper holes are left and from his position Keith can see a single page poking through the sand. The blank sheet reflected boldly in the battle of blue and yellow light. 

A rumble, shook the structure he stood on, trembling him to the deepest bone he has. Keith felt like something was watching him, feeling him. It’s energy overflowing. His fingers were shaking, the sense of pure, raw energy coursing through his veins. It made his heart jump and his hair stand on end and then it was gone, leaving him once again. 

Keith shuddered, shaking off the last traces of the divine power.

He felt even more alone knowing that, just out of reach, there was something there. He wondered if it was a warning to leave, never to return, to be erased like his footprints in the sand. 

On the ground it was as if he didn't exist. He leapt back onto the ground with a heavy thud just to spite whoever thought he could be eradicated. For just a second he let himself wonder if he was being looked for, if whoever survived notified the higher ups, if a worthless foot soldier like himself would be missed. 

He shook it off, reminding himself that a ship was worth more than the people inside, no matter how high ranking they were. It all meant nothing to them at the very end. 

Keith wondered if the only being who knew he existed was the power that lived on this planet, foreboding and frustrated

Against his better judgement, and the want to dig straight down and ignore the world, Keith managed to close his eyes. He searched himself for the surge, for the energy and the pure impulse it brought. He reached out towards it, took the energy and cradled it and let it take over. He started walking towards something unknown to him. 

If he lost his footing under the moving floor then there would be no one around to hear but the power. If he tripped and died there is no one to say anything so it never happened even if the power cared to check. With the gaze of the great power on him he felt stripped, he felt weak but kept going. Pushing forward like he was trained to do and did not stop until it was cold and dark. 

He regretted not picking up his gloves, his hands cold and stiff. He captured his breath in his palms and pushed back to cover his ears but it proved useless as the cold breeze stole away every breath. He brought his knees higher just to make his way over the hill but his feet were sore and numb. The sand, once heated from the star was now icy cold, like tiny knives, pushing into the crevices of his toes. 

As he got to the top of the hill Keith could spot the faintest shape of a cliff, of rocks and natural formation. A knot loosed in his chest as he realised he wasn't completely on a flat wasteland. 

Then once more, the power spoke, sending waves of energy through his body. Keith took a few steps back, legs giving out, hands pressing into his ears. The roar made him tremble. Keith clenched his jaw and pushed his head to the sand with the pure force of distrust, anger, mistake, and suspension. 

He made the wrong choice in coming here, to leading the force on and bearing himself alone. 

Keith got the message. He stumbled, crawling away as fast as he could. Ignoring every complaint his body had to run as far as he could away from the overpowering force. 

The force speaks. Bright blue feverish pleads gripped his heels as he kicked up sand. 

\-------

There was something on the roof. It didn't seem to process in their heads for a second but the crash of another shingle broke them out of their stupor. Hunk shrieked and Pidge rushed over to cover his mouth, tripping over Lance’s legs. He fell backwards, head hitting the floor gaining a spike of pain. 

He gritted his teeth and looked up to find two glowing yellow eyes peering at him from the gaping hole in the roof. 

“It’s right there!” Lance shouted. The eyes vanished. 

“What the hell is that?” Pidge asked, above them something creaked dangerously . 

The three teens scrambled off of one another to hold the lantern to the roof only to illuminate spider webs. The creature had disappeared from sight but its presence hadn’t eased from the teen’s shoulders. Hunk and Lance gave each other a glance. 

“I think… it’s still up there,” Lance whispered. 

Pidge lowered the lantern, “What the hell is it anyways?” 

“The alien maybe?”

“Why wouldn’t it have ran by now?” 

Hunk interrupted them, “What are we supposed to do?”

Outside, the moon was bright and full, lighting up the sand a hollow blue. Inside, the lantern lit up three pale faces. 

“I couldn’t get a good look at it!” Lance said, trying to maneuver his way to look out the hole to spy the creature again. 

“I’m not going outside to find out if aliens are friendly or not!” Hunk exclaimed.

“Someone has to,” Pidge insisted. 

“Well, someone won’t be me!” 

“Okay fine! Rock paper scissors best out of three!” Lance faced the other boy with his fist outstretched. Surprisingly Hunk took the bet. Pidge shook their head. 

“This is so stupid! Hunk, just go outside. You know you’re the best with animals and the biggest out of the three of us!” 

“You’re just saying that because you don't want to be the one to get your face eaten!” 

“I’m being logical!”

“It’s not a chipmunk or a cat! It’s a freaking live alien-”

“Just go!” Pidge hissed. 

“How am I supposed to get it off the roof? I’m not an animal whisperer! This is an alien, how am I even supposed to know how to deal with it?” Hunk exclaimed, palms sweaty.

“Oh!” Lance snapped his fingers and rummaged into his duffle bag only to come out with a garrison food bar, already unwrapped and half gone, “I was saving it for later but maybe it’s hungry.” 

“Great, now i'm going to try and lure a dangerous, hungry alien-thing down from a roof only to get my face eaten off instead!” Hunk took the offered lantern and food bar then steeled himself. Standing in front of the closed door he looked like he wanted to do anything but go outside. He managed to hook his fingers over the edge and peek. He lead himself out with the light extended to cast a yellow glow on everything, shadows crawled on the sand but there was no sign of the alien, not even a sound. 

“Hello?” He whispered, “Little creature? Alien person?” Lance and Pidge pressed up against the window to watch him, their eyes peeking over the sil. 

“I’m not here to hurt you,” His voice cracked. His covered feet crunched the sand underfoot with every step. “I’ve got… um- food. Yum, yum, food”

Something shuffled. Hunk turned to look at the roof with his lantern stretched high only to spot nothing. A cold breeze curled around his spine through his layers. He shivered, feeling like prey. 

Hunk took a deep breath and forced his shoulders to relax. He unraveled the food bar and waved it in the air, “Come on out-” 

A yowl, distinctly feral and leopard like echoed across the landscape. Hunk wailed, dropping the lantern into the sand and extinguishing the flame. He scrambled backwards without taking his eyes off the dark shack. In the moonlight all that could be seen was a dark mass separate itself from the darkness and creep forward with a haunting guttural sound.

Lance and Pidge shouted something, but was not heard. 

The light glinted off its body and as it came closer Hunk was able to distinguish hardened pieces of metal covering it. Tall ears and yellow glowing eyes with no pupils were wide and alert. Its hands and face were purple. Its mouth, twisted and pulled back like a feral dog to show pointy teeth. 

His stance was the polar opposite of how it slept. Back arched and knees bent, arms ready in the air. 

Hunk gasped, kicking up sand as he backed away, feet sliding uselessly against the terrain. The creature slowed to one step at a time then stopped completely. Hunk braced himself, shutting his eyes and holding his hands up in open palmed surrender but after a few seconds of deadly silence when nothing moved except for his shaking arms he opened his eyes. 

Yellow stared into him. Hunk could feel its hot breath on his cheeks. He cringed back, raising his shoulders higher and impulsively kicked. The alien pulled back and snarled, dodging the limb easily but doing nothing in retaliation. 

Hunk watched him warily, his heart pounded. The alien licked it’s lips and made short warble then groaned with its mouth closed. 

“I… what?”

The creature repeated it, lowering itself to Hunk’s line of sight. “Are you trying to speak to me? I don’t know what your saying.” He shook his head trying not to stare into the yellow orbs.

The alien frowned, upper lip curling for a second before leaning forward. Hunk flinched at the sudden closeness but instead of an attack he plucked the unwrapped food bar from the sand behind Hunk’s shoulder. 

He watched in shock as he blew on it in a very human gesture and wiped off as much of the sand as he could before taking a bite. 

Their ears flickered and Hunk couldn't help but take another look. Purple, with animal ears and a long braid traveling from the nape down to the middle of his back, a few strands of hair had come unhooked from the tie and curled around their neck. Bright yellow eyes, obscured by heavy bangs, with light and dark marking decorating their cheeks. A scar traveled from the top of their left eye down to their adam’s apple. They were dressed in armour and plates mostly centered around their stomach, chest and limbs but under the bulk was a tight suit that went up their neck and wrapped around the bottom of their feet. Five fingers and four toes. 

A dark tongue licked its lips as they finished the food bar. It sniffed the plastic wrapping and hooked a piece on their canines. 

Hunk, without thinking, gently took hold of the alien’s wrist and brought it away from their mouth. They froze at the contact and became easily pliable. Hunk took the wrapped out of their grip and noticed for the first time how large his hands were next to his purple ones. 

Crouched together with the alien on his toes and Hunk on the ground with his knees bent half under him he still had the height advantage. He could imagine that standing up next to one another the difference in size would increase even more. 

“This isn’t for eating,” They tensed and rippled physically at his words but watched with rapt attention as the plastic disappeared into hunk’s front good pocket. Once it was gone from sight his yellow eyes flickered up to Hunk’s. 

Locked in place they both stared at each other. A voice called out, interrupting their locked position. “Hunk! Are you dead?” 

The alien got startled a bit, their ears flattened against their head before turning in all directions. Hunk braced himself on the ground and tightened his grip on his companions wrist to bring them both to a stand. He was able to spot Lance even in the darkness with his bright white shirt half out the door. Pidge still sat at the window. 

He waved with his free hand to them, “Yeah we’re good. He’s friendly I think!” 

The alien considered the three people for a second before tugging at Hunk’s grip. Hunk responded by placing his free palm on the alien’s hand. Brushing over it in small repeated motions in hope to settle their nerves. 

He briefly acknowledged that Pidge was right to send him instead of Lance. No doubt he imagined Lance would have handled a more provoking stance and started an intergalactic war. 

The alien’s ears and eyes lowered but did not make any sound. 

When Lance was close the alien began to growl. Shuffling to stand beside Hunk instead of infront. He tugged at this capture limb but did not try to run. Instead faced the challenge with an open chest. 

“Lance hold on!” Hunk called, Lance stopped with a foot in the air, no doubt hearing the vocal warning before Hunk’s call. “Just… approach slowly and don’t act threatening.”

“When have I ever been threatening?” 

Hunk shot him a look but he just grinned and crouched where he stood. His bare feet burrowing into the cold sand. He caught the alien’s wary eyes and bowed his head slightly in some combined gesture of greeting and respect. 

He spoke without breaking eye contact, “Pidge is getting more of those food bars but I don't know how many we have left over.”

“We better get some water as well,” Hunk nodded. He turned to face the alien and nudged them to take a step forward. Startled from their concentration the alien initially stumbled and Hunk waited patiently for them to center themselves. He gave what he hoped was an encouraging smile when the alien looked him in the eye. 

“You’re okay?”

The alien did not respond. His eyebrows furrowed but did not otherwise react. In the corner of his eye Lance took a step forward and instantly their yellow gaze was locked on him, lips parted. The alien’s feet shifted slightly wider. 

Hunk gave Lance an apologetic look.

“If you can get him inside then we will get some supplies ready for you,” Lance smiled and stifled a yawn then without waiting for a response retreated back to the shack, Obviously his curiosity and excitement for the discovery of the new intergalactic species had been hampered by the early wake up call. Even Hunk felt the call of exhaustion start to make his head fuzzy. 

Hunk stepped forward. He maneuvered his arm to firmly press into the alien’s back and nudge him along. Step after step they managed to make the distance to the wooden shack. 

The alien didn't seem to mind being herded like an animal, either exhausted, dehydrated or malnourished from the desert night they were complacent. Hunk wondered if they got the meaning of his whispered encouragements or his tone crossed the language barrier. Behind them the moon dipped low, a deadly red glow spotted the skyline. 

Hunk opened the door and waited as the alien peeked through the frame to scan the area before even stepping inside. The shabby interior was very much the same, lit by a tiny flashlight instead of the lantern that Hunk had left outside. Soon they wouldn't need to flashlight at all with the rising sun and early rays spilling through the cracks and holes.

Pidge and Lance sat on the couch, watching the two enter and trying not to be noticable in their staring. Their rigid posture made them seem like strict parents waiting for their kids to return home after they went for a night of drinking. 

The alien seemed to notice the tense atmosphere, agitation and some fear made their purple fingers twitch. 

“It’s okay,” He whispered and stepped inside, finally letting them stand without assistance. The alien stood in the doorway for another second, shoulders straight, then followed dutifully. Standing close to Hunk and far away from the two other teens. 

“Finally! This whole thing is taking much longer than I wanted,” Lance elbowed Pidge in the ribs for the comment. Rolling their eyes the smallest cadet took a wrapped food bar and a thermos from the ground and handed them to the alien. They grasped the items without thinning but then, in an aborted motion, took a few steps back. Heel of their foot touching the wall. 

They watched for a second, eyes locked in an intense battle with the alien’s glowing ones. Pidge raised an eyebrow unimpressed and studied them. They exaggerated the motion of drinking “Do you know what to do? Does your species need fluid?” When the alien didn’t respond or make any motion Pidge sighed, took back the thermos and unscrewed the lid. 

“So much for advanced civilisation,”

“Pidge leave him alone he’s confused!” Hunk scolded. 

Lance looked the alien up and down, noting the armour and connecting the designs with the crashed ship, “So he doesn’t speak english?”

The alien sniffed the contents of the thermos and squinted his eyes, he dipped his fingers into the water and brought it up to his face, he looked towards hunk who smiled and nodded. The alien licked his finger then took a sip. A second later he was gulping it down. 

“I don’t think so,” Pidge said. 

Lance rubbed the sleep away from his face, “Then what are we supposed to do with him?” 

Hunk took the empty thermos and unwrapped the food bar without being prompted. Shrugging to Lance distractedly, “What did explorers do when they found a new civilisation?” 

“Take their gold and women? Make them into slaves? Ignored them?” Pidge deadpanned. 

Lance’s nose screwed up at the thought but Hunk just grinned and watched as his purple companion gave the empty wrapper to Hunk, looking meaningfully into his eyes and, just like he had done with the first wrapper, closed Hunk’s fingers around the sticky plastic like it was a gift.

“We will teach him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith is so interesting with all of his complicated emotions and mood swings. Also there was like some minor details and excerpts I put in here talking about how he got to crashing on earth! Its all really vauge but I promise it will be revealed in the future! 
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me for all this! Dont forget to comment! I appreciate every single one of you! 
> 
> <3

**Author's Note:**

> Dont forget to comment. I love reading your thoughts, no matter how small!!


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